One Piece: Burning the Sun God to Ash

Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.

Sakazuki and Karol returned here after quietly admiring the scenery for a while.

Sitting in the Fleet Admiral's chair, Sakazuki flipped through some documents and reports on the current battle situation for the first time in a while. There weren't any major changes, so he closed the folder and set it aside.

"Have there been any reports of special Devil Fruit users recently?"

Karol smiled.

"Yes. Quite a few, actually."

"For some reason, these past few days, there's been a sudden increase in rare ability users showing up."

"They're all registered in the records already."

He opened the drawer beside his chair, pulled out a thick booklet, and handed it to Sakazuki.

It was filled with densely recorded information on ability users, with the rarer ones specially marked.

Sakazuki glanced through it and nodded slightly.

"Find time to deal with these people."

"Recover a few Paramecia types."

"Barrier-Barrier Fruit, Magnet-Magnet Fruit, and the like."

"The rest can wait. There's no rush."

Sakazuki recalled one of the support request documents he'd seen earlier.

"The Kingdom of Rommel is in the New World, right?"

"I'll go check it out tonight."

Karol nodded.

"Yes."

...

Late at night.

New World, Kingdom of Rommel.

The capital was ablaze with lights, yet eerily silent. Every room was illuminated with lamps, leaving no corner in darkness, but people cowered in corners clutching weapons, terrified of something.

All of this stemmed from a legend that had spread at some unknown point—the legend of "The Kamaitachi of Rommel."

The "Kamaitachi of Rommel" got its name from its lightning-fast killing speed.

It began as a rumor in the capital and quickly spread throughout the entire kingdom.

According to the legend, once night fell, a figure like a demon would emerge to roam the capital freely, mercilessly slaughtering the kingdom's well-known figures.

The victims spanned across all professions. Anyone with some degree of fame, no matter how small, could become the Kamaitachi's next target.

The kingdom tried linking the victims to find the culprit, but after repeated investigations, they discovered the killer was just a madman... killing without purpose.

It seemed like he simply enjoyed the act of slaughtering famous people.

The kingdom had even sought help from the Marines, but the Kamaitachi moved too fast. Countless soldiers had died in failed encirclements.

With no other choice, they requested higher-level support—but most mid- and high-level forces were deployed to the front lines. The report was escalated level by level… until it finally landed in the Fleet Admiral's office.

On the highest rooftop in the capital.

A man with golden curls, dressed like a fairytale prince, held a rose in his hand. He inhaled deeply in intoxication.

"Ah~"

"This is my charm~"

"The entire kingdom has fallen for my handsome beauty~"

"Tonight too, I'll make it..."

"A splendid hunt!"

Lost in his narcissism, he closed his eyes as if falling asleep...

Moments later, a dark, oppressive aura burst from his body. His handsome face twisted into that of a demon, his eyes glowing with bloodlust... and he leapt toward the capital below.

Cavendish.

A prince from the Bourgeois Kingdom.

His excessive beauty had caused all unmarried women in the kingdom to refuse marriage. In the end, for the nation's sake, he was exiled.

When he wandered into the Kingdom of Rommel, his second personality slaughtered numerous prominent figures in his sleep, causing nationwide uproar.

Cavendish seemed to relish the attention and whispers surrounding him, basking in the popularity his "second personality" brought him...

But tonight...

BOOM!!!

Just as Cavendish leapt into the capital, he was kicked out of the air by the suddenly appearing Karol, slamming into a wall.

Many of those hiding inside houses poked their heads out, eyes lighting up with excitement.

"The Marines! It's the Marines!!!"

"Finally!!!"

"They sent that demon flying in an instant! He's done for tonight!"

Karol looked at Cavendish, who was embedded in the wall, and watched him push away shattered bricks and crawl out. He tilted his head slightly.

"A mental disorder, huh…"

A bit disappointing. He had thought it might be some rare ability.

He had sensed Cavendish on the rooftop earlier, but there hadn't been anything unusual.

Then suddenly, in an instant, the man's aura shifted into that of a demon…

In his "inner personality" state, Cavendish let out a low snarl. A longsword appeared in his hand at some point. He stepped forward and lunged at Karol.

The air split around the blade, the sword aura spinning and vaguely forming the shape of a bird.

Seeing the bird-shaped aura rushing toward him, Karol chuckled.

"Blue Bird, huh."

He gripped his sword and murmured softly.

"One Sword Style..."

"Blue Bird!"

CAW——

A loud cry echoed as a massive blue sword slash shot forth, also forming a lifelike Blue Bird, almost tangible.

Slash——

It pierced straight through.

The inner personality Cavendish froze mid-lunge, his head stiffly lowering to look at his chest in disbelief. Then his entire aura shifted, and his second personality vanished instantly.

The main Cavendish returned—but it was too late. The searing pain in his chest told him he was finished...

Before he could even look up at the one who struck him, his vision spun. He caught a glimpse of familiar legs below...

His upper body, severed cleanly at the waist, fell to the ground. In the final moment before his consciousness faded, he saw Karol's calm, indifferent face.

"That guy's face... it's even more handsome than mine..."

An overwhelming unwillingness surged through his mind, but he could do nothing. Darkness consumed him.

Karol calmly sheathed his sword and picked up Cavendish's fallen blade. He wasn't interested in investigating the man any further—this was just a side mission.

...

South Blue, a small island captured by the Revolutionary Army.

The pirate crew that had once ruled the island had already been wiped out by the revolutionaries.

Everything was developing in a better direction—but things weren't so good for the island's teenage gangs.

The new rules made it hard for them to adapt, and they were brainstorming solutions.

Four gang leaders had gathered together—this was the early form of the future Kid Pirates. At this point, Eustass Kid had already gained his Devil Fruit ability. In this timeline, his first love—who was killed by pirates in the original—was still alive.

Counting the four gang leaders, five of them hit it off and began planning to set sail together...

Whoosh——

Karol appeared on a nearby tree, suppressing his presence and listening to their discussion with a soft chuckle.

He leaned back against the thick trunk, arms folded behind his head. Originally, he had planned to eliminate that one special ability user directly, but since they were planning to set sail anyway...

"This works out nicely..."

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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total